I have just received my new head (mls) and base (single layer) gaskets. Should I spray them with anything (like a copper based spray?) or just clean the surfaces thoroughly and put them on and torque everything to specification?

I have just received my new head (mls) and base (single layer) gaskets. Should I spray them with anything (like a copper based spray?) or just clean the surfaces thoroughly and put them on and torque everything to specification?

I have just received my new head (mls) and base (single layer) gaskets. Should I spray them with anything (like a copper based spray?) or just clean the surfaces thoroughly and put them on and torque everything to specification?

Hi there,
I'm lucky to announce that Miss Marlboro is up and barking again! The engine, rebuilt by Lars, is re-installed and all the little things around it are mostly refitted, just a few things to be done. Re-mounting of fairing, tank- and engine-guards, side-panels and sealing of the oil-filter-cover. Looks like a new o-ring is necessary at that point. But that's no problem, there are shops here with such an amount of them that they sell them ...
Nice regards, lucky Bambi

yeah well, some are lucky some are not... the owners house burnt down and they sold the rest of the ´´damaged´´ inventory... so i came there for work to buy some fine pieces out of the inventory [i´m a picker]... and than i saw her :eek1 i almost said what i wanted to pay seen-on-sight, and that was like 800 to a 1000... he said 400 and i got a spare engine with it for 50 bangerss i was familiar with the bike so... with all the rest it was my best day ever... EVER!... 3 months later in Germany bmw R100gs PD ´95 original 34k-km... 1100 quid! i pissed myself back home so happy i was! but he, some are lucky some are not... [i felled flat on my face many many times more] but is funny to tell this story..

Glad to hear that Bambi, I know that feeling of a fresh engine barking to life!

I just finished assembling my bike yesterday and took a short test ride of 50kms, didn't have too much time. To be honest I was surprised it fired up immediately and worked so well with so many mods. I was expecting a lot of hassling with jetting etc. But it was running strong throughout the revs. With new cam and fresh piston I did not push it to the limits yet. I will do some jetting and mileage tests in next few days as soon as time permits.

Hi there,
I'm lucky to announce that Miss Marlboro is up and barking again! The engine, rebuilt by Lars, is re-installed and all the little things around it are mostly refitted, just a few things to be done. Re-mounting of fairing, tank- and engine-guards, side-panels and sealing of the oil-filter-cover. Looks like a new o-ring is necessary at that point. But that's no problem, there are shops here with such an amount of them that they sell them ...
Nice regards, lucky Bambi

I just finished assembling my bike yesterday and took a short test ride of 50kms, didn't have too much time. To be honest I was surprised it fired up immediately and worked so well with so many mods. I was expecting a lot of hassling with jetting etc. But it was running strong throughout the revs. With new cam and fresh piston I did not push it to the limits yet. I will do some jetting and mileage tests in next few days as soon as time permits.

Hello mait,
looks good!!!
Concerning the need of attention to body-work:
Iris did a great job polishing these parts with car-wax (and lots of elbow-grease!). We had some white-couloured wax from a white VW Caddy pick-up we owned for about 10 years. That worked great with the white parts. There should be also a can of red wax from another (red) Caddy (that I still own and would love to restore) and a red VW Polo. That'll be tested on the red parts of the bike. When I find that can again ...
Kínd regards, Bambi

well i have finally decided what i want to do with my Big. it is going to cop a top end rebuild using one of Maits custom pistons (thanks Mait) freshen up the head, cma chain, balancer chain a set of pumpers and a custom airbox.
Lars, can i get one of your header pipes. how much?
i've already got good suspension on the old girl and it has done over 105,000ks so i need to know that i can rely on the motor.
i will try to remember to post up pics.

someone ever tried to ditch the whole cushion system on the back of a dr800 1990, so the shock is attached from frame to swingarm (directly)!?

Click to expand...

That's bad idea, trust me. I had bikes with this setup. They NEVER performed suspension-wise as good as proper progressive. Even KTM gave up on that.
One of most important charactersitics of DR Big is it's surprisingly good geometry and handling. It can carve tight corners or go through forest. By ditching very well calculated progressive system you will kill one of this factors. And even PDS shock won't help really.

... and how does it feel getting it rolling from a stand-still? And when you get into the twisties, perhaps even up-hill?
I'd be rather thinking about putting one more tooth on the rear in search of more grunt ...
Kind regards, Bambi

I haven't tried that yet, been raining cats and dogs here the last 2 days.
But I reckon because the DR Big is a big single cylinder, even though there will be some power loss, it shouldn't be so bad as not to be able to climb up a hill.